Increasing growth in technology and electronics has increased the number of electronic devices in recent years. In general, many electronic devices may be remotely controlled. For example, to name a few, a television set, a set-top-box, a receiver, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a game console and a stereo, may all be remotely controlled.
Remote controls in general require a user to initiate a command (e.g., increase the volume). Unfortunately, remote controls do not have the intelligence to automatically adjust various user preferences (e.g., volume) in order to compensate for external factors (e.g., ambient noise), effecting the user preference (e.g., volume level).
Similarly, remote controls do not have the intelligence to automatically adjust various parameters (e.g., volume, surround sound parameters and etc.) based on the location of the remote control. For example, if a user walks out of the room with a remote control, the volume for the television set is not adjusted. As a result, the user will be unable to hear the program on the television set. Similarly when a user changes position in the room, the parameters for the surround sound remain the same. As a result, the user may be unable to experience the full effect of the surround sound since various signals may now arrive at different times due to the change in user location.
Furthermore, remote controls currently fail to automatically adjust various user preference parameters based on the user identification. Therefore, adjusting various parameters requires each user to individually and manually adjust various parameters based on the user preference. For example, remote controls are incapable of identifying the user in order to automatically adjust the volume based on the user preference. Additionally, since remote controls are incapable of identifying the user, parents have to manually block channels for preventing minors from watching certain channels. Accordingly, adjusting various parameters (e.g., volume, blocking channels, surround sound and etc.) using conventional remote controls is tedious and requires complex manual steps to be taken by the user.
With increasing use of the Internet, television sets are now equipped with Internet Protocol (e.g., IPTV). Therefore, many users now surf the web using their television set. The user may wish to purchase an item online or order a movie. In general, this requires the user to manually take a credit card and enter the credit card number. The user may wish to keep the credit number private when other people are present. Unfortunately, conventional methods fail to provide a method for the user to keep the information private and require the user to manually enter the credit card number which may also be error prone. Alternatively, the system may require the user to slide the credit card on the remote if the remote control is equipped with magnetic reading mechanism. Unfortunately, the mentioned methods are tedious, error prone and may expose the privacy of the user.
Unfortunately, most remote controls only function as a remote control and are not configured for use as an integrated electronic device with added functionalities. For example, a wireless telephone and a remote control are separate from one another.
The development of new technologies like Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) has led to an increase in the quality of images on the display. Most remote controls use expensive Infrared (IR) technology to control electronic devices (e.g., television set). On occasion, IR technology interferes with the backlighting of the LCD screen due to its interference with white light emitting diode (LED) of the LCD.
Moreover, unfortunately conventional remote controls are not equipped with a mechanism such that the position of a remote control can be located in response to a user command. For example, if a remote control is lost (e.g., buried under a couch), there is currently no convenient method for locating the remote control without having to physically search for the remote control.